UCFB offers a number of unique scholarship opportunities to students of all abilities across a number of disciplines, with scholarships available based on academic and sporting achievements, as well as social mobility, among other categories.

Cameron Dabbs, a BA (Hons) Stadium & Events Management student at UCFB Wembley, was awarded the Paul Fletcher MBE Scholarship. Here, he tells us about how the award has helped him, and shares his highlights from his time at UCFB so far.

How has the scholarship helped you so far?

The scholarship has provided finance for me to continue my personal development through enrolling on additional courses related to my degree. Over the course of the year I will be completing my APHL License which will make me a personal license holder and will allow me to sell alcoholic beverages during any events I work on. Also working with Fulham FC, I am striving towards a NVQ Level 2 Stewardship Qualification and hope to complete a CCTV license in the future which will allow me to work in control rooms during events.

Why did you decide to come to UCFB and apply for the scholarship?

UCFB offers unique degrees within the sports industry which no other institution provides; I wouldn’t have gone anywhere other than UCFB. When I saw the scholarships advertised I thought there was no harm in applying. UCFB has amazing students and staff from around the world who want to share their ideas and experiences to improve our knowledge and to get us ready for our chosen industry.

How has your time at UCFB been so far?

With UCFB and through my degree I have been able to take part in some amazing opportunities. I attended The Stadium Design & Business Summit recently, which looks at all the new and ongoing developments within stadia around the world. I was able to listen to industry experts on how the events industry is evolving all the time and where they think it is going during an exclusive event at Cafe de Paris. I’ve also travelled to Royal Windsor Racecourse to look at how racing events are co-ordinated, as well as the potential career opportunities available there.

What aspects of UCFB have you enjoyed most?

UCFB Wembley has created a fantastic working environment for students, with one of the greatest stadiums in the world at the centre of it all. With the degrees focusing on one particular industry, every student has something in common. I found that listening to other students from other programmes can help expand your personal knowledge and improve your coursework.

Any advice for students looking to come to UCFB, in particular those thinking of applying for a scholarship?

I think a very clichéd thing to say is that you get out what you put into it, but this is the truth. People around the campus and stadium will recognise how badly you want to do well, and doors will begin to open for you and you will meet people who can help you kick off your career. UCFB provides great opportunities to network with people in the industry through the guest speaker programme and through the numerous work placements. Say yes to them, even if there are some that you think you won’t like, because it’s an opportunity to network and get your name out to various organisations that you may work with in the future. I’m fortunate enough to be working with the Vanarama National League on their play-off final because I put my name out there and asked if I could be part of the opportunity.

It terms of applying for a scholarship, you should find a project related to your degree or similar, make that project your own and make it happen – the rest is easy. I was fortunate to be part of an amazing non-league club, Dorchester Town, who allowed me an extended design project which could potentially benefit the club. I looked at previous fundraising ideas from different clubs and tried to improve it before presenting the idea to the board. The idea was to hypothetically divide up our pitch and stadium into squares and sell them to raise money to install an artificial pitch. After initially releasing 100 squares, we decided to release another 50 for fans to purchase. Eventually it secured enough funding along with other grants to install the pitch.